Statement of Purpose

The American Law and Economics Association is dedicated to the advancement of economic understanding of
law and related areas of public policy and regulation. Founded in 1991, the membership includes academic
and practicing lawyers and economists. The Association holds an annual two-day meeting in May at which
members present papers dealing with a wide variety of topics concerning the interrelation of law and
economics. Since 1999, the Association has published the American Law and Economics Review, a refereed
journal.

Past Presidents of the American Law and Economics Association

2016: Ian Ayres

2015: Kathryn Spier

2014: Robert Scott

2013: Douglas Baird

2012: Jennifer Reinganum

2011: John Donohue

2010: Louis Kaplow

2009: Orley Ashenfelter

2008: Michelle White

2007: Lucian Bebchuk

2006: Oliver Hart

2005: Daniel Rubinfeld

2004: Henry Hansmann

2003: Frank Easterbrook

2002: Michael J. Trebilcock

2001: Steven Shavell

2000: Robert C. Ellickson

1999: Lewis Kornhauser

1998: Roberta Romano

1997: Oliver Williamson

1996: Alan Schwartz

1995: Richard A. Posner

1994: Robert D. Cooter

1993: A. Mitchell Polinsky

1992: William M. Landes

1991: George L. Priest

2018 Annual Meeting will be held at Boston University School of Law.

The 28th Annual Meeting of the American Law and Economics Association will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 11-12, 2018 at Boston University School of Law.

A Brief History of the Founding of the American Law and Economics Association

As the community of law and economics scholars grew, the need to establish a national association to
promote and encourage research in the field became apparent. In January, 1990, Henry Manne, who was Dean
of George Mason University Law School, convened a meeting to discuss the organization of an association.
Dean Manne also secured initial funding for the development of an association from the John M. Olin
Foundation. The meeting occurred at George Mason and was attended by Robert Cooter (Berkeley), Charles
Goetz (Virginia), Victor Goldberg (Columbia), A. Mitchell Polinsky (Stanford), George Priest (Yale),
Steven Shavell (Harvard), Michael Trebilcock (Toronto), Thomas Ulen (Illinois), and Richard Zerbe
(Washington).

After the George Mason meeting, George Priest, A. Mitchell Polinsky, and Steven Shavell formally
incorporated the American Law and Economics Association and sent a letter to prospective members in
February, 1991, announcing plans for the first annual meeting of the Association.
The first annual meeting of the Association was held on May 24-25, 1991, at the University of Illinois
in Champaign-Urbana, and was attended by 200 scholars. The meeting included a plenary session honoring
founders of the field: Guido Calabresi (Yale), Ronald Coase (Chicago), Henry Manne (George Mason), and
Richard Posner (Chicago), each of whom was in attendance.

At this first annual meeting, a Board of Directors and Officers of the Association were elected by
attending members. The initial Board consisted of representatives of major schools: Jennifer Arlen
(Emory), Robert Cooter (Berkeley), Richard Craswell (U.S.C.), Patricia Danzon (Pennsylvania), Victor
Goldberg (Columbia), Mark Grady (Northwestern), Lewis Kornhauser (N.Y.U.), Judith Lachman (M.I.T.),
Henry Manne (George Mason), Warren Schwartz (Georgetown), Robert Scott, (Virginia), Steven Shavell
(Harvard), Thomas Ulen (Illinois), Michelle White (Michigan), and Richard Zerbe (Washington). The first
Officers were George Priest (Yale), President; William Landes (Chicago), Vice President/President-Elect;
and A. Mitchell Polinsky (Stanford), Secretary-Treasurer. The first Executive Director of the
Association was Karen Crocco. The John M. Olin Foundation generously agreed to sustain the Association
in its early years.